July 17, 2013

Navigating Children's Smartphone Use in the 2010s

Zact, the industry's first smart mobile service provider, today released details from a recent U.S. consumer survey looking at some of the hot topics and concerns parents are facing when it comes to mobile technology and their children. In particular, the survey revealed insights about parents' views of children's use of smartphones. Zact commissioned the survey with USamp among a parenting panel of 1,020 respondents in the U.S. Highlights are below:

Smartphones prevalent in U.S. households

64 percent of families have between 3 and 6 mobile devices in their household

Nearly half of children in the U.S. have a smartphone

58 percent of parents allow their child 1 to 4 hours of screen time on their smart device per day

Pricing and service woes

75 percent of parents are very concerned with the cost of the phone and plan

Nearly half of parents are frustrated by the cost of adding family members

Over 40 percent of parents frustrated by length of service contracts

Over 40 percent of parents frustrated about paying for standard plans vs. only what they use

Deep concerns about privacy, safety and overuse

73 percent of parents are concerned about the lack of parental controls of their kids' mobile phones

78 percent of parents are concerned about online safety using mobile phones

64 percent of parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend texting

79 percent of parents are concerned about being unsure who contacts their children

Over three quarters of parents agree that legislation has not kept up the changes in the mobile phone industry regarding protecting minors

Given more control, parents are willing to introduce smartphones to their children

Two thirds of parents feel their child is old enough for their own mobile device

If the device included parental controls, 62 percent of parents feel the ideal age to give a child a smartphone is 13 or younger

Over 90 percent of parents rate the ability to limit access to certain apps, block contacts, detect geolocation, and limit texting and web access as important when considering introducing a smartphone to a child

26 percent of parents have used screen time as a reward; 51 percent have considered it

"In today's world, parents often struggle with how best to introduce new technology to their children and at what age to do so," said Anna Fieler, Chief Marketing Officer, Zact. "In regards to smartphones, the data from this survey demonstrates the desire for highly customizable plans offering in-depth parental control options, like Zact, that can provide greater affordability and security for families."

The Zact service is available in the U.S. and runs on the Sprint Nationwide Network with 4G/LTE coverage. With Zact, any plan is sharable-- there is no limit to the number of Zact-enabled devices that can be added to an account. Outside of a nominal $4.99 line charge per each device, there are no additional fees and no need to buy a separate plan. In addition, built-in parental controls let users easily set curfews, and restrict apps, browsing and contacts on a child's phone.